The archaeological UNESCO site of Khor Rori (Oman - Arabian Peninsula), was originated on about 4th century B.C. along the well known “incense way”. The ruins of the ancient city are made up of irregular stone external layers and an internal caotic mixture of ground materials. Large sections of the walls show marked signs of subsidence attributable to poor quality of the inner mixture and the lack of topside protection from the rain: these appear as surfaces collapsed into the spoon shape typical of the landslide mechanics of soil subsidence. A programme of structural consolidation has been arranged, involving a group of young post-graduate engineers, during two archaeological campaigns in the 2005. After a series of specimens to establish the proper procedure, each considered wall was dismantled and the blocks catalogued. The outer facings have been reassembled in their original positions, adding a lime mortar joint, starting from a layer of geotextile to mark the rebuilt portions; the internal filler material has been modified by adding a mixture of local sand, rubble and some transverse stone course. The top of the newly consolidated walls were protected with a low-gravel-content layer of sand against rain penetration. A simplified mechanical model (Mohr-Coulomb limit analysis) has been proposed to determine cohesion and internal friction coefficients of the masonry material, by the knowledge of the collapse surface.

AN EXPERIENCE OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESTORATION: THE CONSOLIDATION OF THE MASONRY CITY WALLS OF THE UNESCO SITE OF KHOR RORI (OMAN)

SASSU, MAURO;
2006-01-01

Abstract

The archaeological UNESCO site of Khor Rori (Oman - Arabian Peninsula), was originated on about 4th century B.C. along the well known “incense way”. The ruins of the ancient city are made up of irregular stone external layers and an internal caotic mixture of ground materials. Large sections of the walls show marked signs of subsidence attributable to poor quality of the inner mixture and the lack of topside protection from the rain: these appear as surfaces collapsed into the spoon shape typical of the landslide mechanics of soil subsidence. A programme of structural consolidation has been arranged, involving a group of young post-graduate engineers, during two archaeological campaigns in the 2005. After a series of specimens to establish the proper procedure, each considered wall was dismantled and the blocks catalogued. The outer facings have been reassembled in their original positions, adding a lime mortar joint, starting from a layer of geotextile to mark the rebuilt portions; the internal filler material has been modified by adding a mixture of local sand, rubble and some transverse stone course. The top of the newly consolidated walls were protected with a low-gravel-content layer of sand against rain penetration. A simplified mechanical model (Mohr-Coulomb limit analysis) has been proposed to determine cohesion and internal friction coefficients of the masonry material, by the knowledge of the collapse surface.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11584/189832
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